Project pan of 2020

Hi everyone! I have mentioned before that I will make a post about the products I have been panning and using up in 2020. I am finally reunited with my make up collection (and my make up garbage too! 🙂 ) Let’s dive in, so I can recycle the things I have used up. By the way, not all of the products that were in the project pan got used up, so I will highlight those products in the end.

Let’s start with primers I used up in 2020. I have 4 face primers to talk about, all in the mini sizes that I used all the way up plus two eye primers.

I really love Becca First light priming filter and this mini size was a part of a little duo (it came with a mini Becca bronzer which I was also using last year). I love the subtle brightening effect this primer gives. It has been one of my favorites, and I have a full size of it as well. Once I use up the full size of it, I will not be repurchasing this primer, as I am stepping back from supporting Becca brand. They are part of Estee Lauder group which I do not want to support in any way, shape and form. Other Becca primer I was using was Skin love Brighten&Blur primer. This was just ok. Nothing special about this primer and for a while I thought it was breaking me out, so I was happy to be done with it. Ciate London Watermelon burst was a lovely and lightweight primer to use. I used it in summer months and it gave me a little extra hydration, almost glass looking skin. The only thing that was a bit odd was that it had little black beads that you needed to work into your skin. It looked cool in the tube-like watermelon seeds, but if you were not thorough in working it into your skin, you would have black dots on your face. I will not be repurchasing it, as I have good drugstore options for hydrating primers. Last primer was Milk makeup Hydro grip primer. I have mixed feelings about it. I think it did a great job of making my makeup last all day, but I think it also gave me some breakouts. I am not willing to risk it again by trying it again, so I was happy to be done with it. I used two eye primers. One was Luscious angel eyes, which I got in Boxycharm forever ago. Nothing special. Worked fine and honestly don’t know if this brand exists anymore. The other primer type of product was by Elf sheer blurring under eye primer. I really liked it and it made my concealer go on more smoothly. It was very affordable as most Elf products are.

I did not use many base products last year. I made the most of the First Aid Beauty Ultra repair tinted moisturizer before it expired. I liked the dewiness and light coverage and the fact that it had an SPF. The color match was definitely my summer shade, so I had to wait for the summer to roll around to use it. Otherwise it looked too orange on me and that is not a cute look. Since First Aid Beauty is selling in China mainland now, I will not be supporting the brand anymore and, sadly, I will miss some of their skincare products. Guess it is time to branch out and find even better formulas. I loved Glossier perfecting skin tint when I was using it, but eventually it expired, so I gave up on it. Not sure if I would repurchase it now. I guess I have found different options, more accessible in Europe so I can live without it. I love BareMinerals Complexion rescue stick. This was in the shade Opal, which was a bit too light for me, but I made it work in the winter. I have a full size now in Cashew, shade which is a much better match for me. Great product overall. I have used up two concealers. Charlotte Tilbury Magic away liquid concealer in shade 3. I really do not understand the hype around this product. It is crazy expensive plus it looked cakey on my under eyes. I struggled to use it up. Sometimes I would use it all over my face for a minimal make up look days. It always looked a bit heavy on me. However,  I used every last bit of it, and got my money’s worth (and some bad makeup days). Thanks Charlotte!  Obviously, I will not be repurchasing it, nor any other Charlotte product as she has started to sell her makeup and skincare in mainland China. Not cool! I have also used the mini size of Naked skin from Urban Decay. This was an ok concealer, but the shade I had was medium light, so I focused on it on the summer months. I was not in love with it, so I will not miss it now that it is gone.

I really liked all three setting sprays I used up. Catrice prime and fine Dewy glow fixing spray is really good. I loved the nozzle on it, the mist it gave and especially the glow. Very good drugstore option for a glowy look. I enjoyed both of the Urban Decay’s setting sprays: All nighter and Quick fix. I would repurchase either of those when I run out of my other setting sprays.

I used up quite a bit of lip products last year. As much as I love Elf exfoliating scrubs, they go bad so quickly that I am done repurchasing them. Something in the formula is very unstable and I end up having to toss the rest before I use it up. I did enjoy both cherry and mint scent, but realistically I do not have the need to buy it again. I can just use regular granulated sugar with a bit of water and it does same job. As affordable as it is, I really do not need it. I liked using Glossier Mango balm dot com, as it had a thick formula so it created a barrier for your lips. It was not nourishing as much as I wanted it to be, but it smells great. A bit expensive, but would reconsider buying it again. I would not repurchase Colourpop lippie balm. I liked it at the time, but I got sick of the coconut scent, and frankly I am a bit tired of Colourpop in general, so I am using up as much as I can from the brand in the next year.

I used up seven glosses in 2020. I love glosses and different formulas, so this is always bitter sweet, finishing a product and moving on.

Sephora gel gloss ultra brilliant ultra shine lip gel (what a long name!). I did like it, but I did not buy it myself, as Sephora in house brand is not cruelty free. I really love Marc Jacobs enamored shine glosses. I have a couple of them, but the one I have finished was in shade Some girls. Very nice summer color. Just enough color and shine on your lips, love the formula and love that it is a mini so you do not get too tired of the same color. Buxom full on lip cream in White Russian is such a classic lip gloss, both color and a formula. Plumping gloss that does not hurt. I love this line. A while ago I used up a mini in color Dolly (mauve), great shade for the fall. Elf lip plumping gloss in Pink Cosmo was nice. Somewhat a dupe for that Buxom gloss in White Russian, except much more affordable. Loved it. Fenty makes some of the best lip gloss formula called Fenty Gloss Bomb. I have used up the one in color Fenty Glow (warm nude color which is ideal for the summer months) and currently working on shade Fussy-my perfect shade. Loved the formula and the size of these glosses is double of the regular gloss. I will repurchase Fussy shade once I am in need of a new gloss. NYX butter gloss – oh I love the formula, but this shade Éclair was not my perfect shade. It looked better on me in the wintertime, without any tan, because it is cooler pink tone. In general, I love these glosses. Some of my favorite colors are Crème brulee, Tiramisu and Fortune cookie. You cannot go wrong with these. I have used up one lip oil from Ciate London (which came in the duo with that mini face primer). Very comfortable and shiny on the lips. It was also nourishing. I would consider repurchase it when I need a lip product.

I have also used up 4 mascaras and one lash primer. It is not really a project pan thing, it is just what happens during the year along with the makeup usage. One of my favorite mascaras was Hourglass Caution extreme lash mascara. It is one of the rare mascaras that does not transfer under my eyes and make me look like a cross breed of panda and a raccoon.  I have one more mini of it to use up soon and then I will be very sad, as I am no longer supporting Hourglass either. I detest that they cater to only light skin tones with their products and there is just no excuse for that in this day and age. So, I am done buying from Hourglass for the time being. I liked Superhero from It cosmetics, but it is not my holly grail mascara, so I can live without it. I bought Elf x JKissa mascara as I thought true brown mascara would work well for me on the no-make-up makeup days. And I did like it for a short period of time, but something in the formula was just irritating my eyes, making them all red in the corners, so that was a big no for me. Last mascara was from Flower beauty Warrior princess. It had a bit too big of a wand for me, but the formula was decent. It would transfer in the end of the day under my lower lash line, so it never became my favorite mascara, but that is fine. I can look for something new. I have used up 1 lash primer: Covergirl Lash Blast amplyfy primer. I do like this primer. I think it makes a difference with those mascaras that are not a perfect formula for me. So, I have repurchased it and currently using the new one. It is doing it’s job, so when I have a chance I do like to buy it to help me with less ideal mascaras to behave better on my eyes.

All in all, I have fully used up a total of 29 products. When I add up the value of it (some products were a gift with purchase and some of them I did get for a discounted price), it comes to the amount of 307,5 USD. That is insane! This is why I started doing project pan, as I want to make sure I get most of the products I have bought.

Wow, this post got long, so I should stop here for now. Here is a photo of the rest of my project pan items from last year. These got rolled into the project pan for 2021. I will highlight them next time when I introduce the products I am focusing on in 2021.

Hope you have a great day and talk to you soon!

XOXO, Iva